


Something In the Woods

by Sherpkat



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Fantasy AU, M/M, attack on titan fantasy, there will be mystical things, uh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-28
Updated: 2014-03-21
Packaged: 2018-01-14 01:17:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1247302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherpkat/pseuds/Sherpkat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I found him lying in the snow against the tree I liked to read by when the sun was actually shining.  He looked so peaceful, like he was sleeping—the gentle rise and fall of his chest the only movement in the white wasteland—but upon walking closer, he didn’t look so serene.  There were long, deep, gashes on his right arm, extending from the elbow down to what remained of his hand, and his face was bloody and purple, a small puddle of vermillion already forming around where his head laid."</p><p>Jean finds a mysterious man injured in the woods, and this is that story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crayola_writer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crayola_writer/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Whispers In The Dark](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061314) by [TheOrgasmicSeke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOrgasmicSeke/pseuds/TheOrgasmicSeke). 



> This work is sort of inspired by Whispers In The Dark by TheOrgasmicSeke, and it's just a wonderful story that everyone needs to check out.

I found him lying in the snow against the tree I liked to read by when the sun was actually shining.  He looked so peaceful, like he was sleeping—the gentle rise and fall of his chest the only movement in the white wasteland—but upon walking closer, he didn’t look so serene.  There were long, deep, gashes on his right arm, extending from the elbow down to what remained of his hand, and his face was bloody and purple, a small puddle of vermillion already forming around where his head laid.

            I stood there horrified for almost three seconds before instincts took over.  Rushing towards the man, I carefully picked him up from his left side—the seemingly non-injured side—and quickly stood. He was surprising light for his large frame, almost skin and bones in my trembling hands.  This man would die in my arms if I didn’t do something quick, now, to save him.  So I took off, frantically running into town, and spooking a total of three horses, before arriving at _Jaeger’s_ house.

            Kicking the door with a sturdy boot, I yelled “Anyone home?  I need some medical attention, immediately!”  I continued kicking until the wooden door finally creaked open to reveal a disgruntled and scowling Eren.

            “What’s going on Jean?  What do you think you’re—“ and he stopped, looking down at the mess of a man barely breathing in my arms.

            I looked down at the weight I was holding, speaking low and quick, “Jaeger, I’m going to need you to get your dad or something right now or I will personally go in your house and find him because this man is going to _die_ if something isn’t done now.”

            I paused and looked back up to see Eren still standing there, his brows creased and scrunched together, when a voice called out “bring whoever it is inside and shut the door before all the heat gets out!”

            I quickly brushed past Eren, not even bothering to engage in the usual ‘accidental’ bumping that would usually end a brawl.  This man’s life was more important than a petty rivalry.

            Dr. Jaeger was standing in the hallway, ushering me to bring the man whose breathing had grown slow slower and into the room next to him.  I placed him on a bed with fresh sheets, the smell of soap still strong in the air, and barely jumped back before Dr. Jaeger was up close and inspecting him.  He checked him briefly over; hovering fingers over his face and arm, where I noticed something I hadn’t seen earlier, before he looked back over his shoulder to me.

            “Jean,” he sighed, looking back to the man, “I’m going to have to ask you to call over Eren, but then, please leave.”

            I stuttered, “But-bu—“

            “Jean,” he growled, “this man needs immediate emergency care because he has intense hypothermia and most likely frostbite too and I may need to do some drastic medical procedures to ensure that he lives, and I need you out of my house and Eren in here to help.”  He dismissed me with a wave of his hand as Eren walking in holding blankets and other medical supplies I couldn’t identify.  Things that were definitely sharp and scary.

            “Jean, leave.” Eren spoke tersely, hurrying over to his father and the man on the bed.

            I couldn’t leave him here alone with the Jaeger’s, but I wouldn’t know what to do for him.  These people, while being the best medical help in town, were rumored to be crazy.  Some people who walked into this house as healthy as a horse were never seen again.  But it was the ones at death’s door that came here to be healed that miraculously survived and kept Jaeger in business.  The man was obviously crazy, but he seemed to be able to work some kind of magic to keep people alive.

            “Jean,” Eren spoke again, quieter this time, “I will send for you when he’s better. But, for now, it’s better if you’re not here for this.” 

            I turned around as Dr. Jaeger began giving instructions I couldn’t understand, something about tourniquets and blankets, and headed out the heavy front door.  The wind was cold and biting as I leaned against the Jaeger’s entryway, scuffed boots sinking into the gathering snow on the top step. 

            What was that man thinking?  Being alone in the woods on a day like this?  What would even injure a man like that?  What kind of creature would take a chunk out of his arm that large?  I hadn’t noticed it when I first picked him up, but when Dr. Jaeger was examining him, there was no mistaking that the large piece missing from the man’s right arm could have only been from a creature with a large mouth.  I’m surprised he wasn’t missing much else.

            All I could do was sigh, pushing off the door and begin making my own way back home.  Eren would show up eventually with news, and then maybe a few mysteries would be found out.  Until then, all I could do was wait and hope that the man lived.  I’m not sure why, but this man felt important.  Of course we’d all heard the various stories about the horrors of the woods, and even a few urban legends about people disappearing, but no bodies were ever found.  If this man lived, maybe he could tell the villagers what made them keep two locks on every door and never keep a window open past nightfall.

            Maybe he could explain why I felt so at home there, and why he looked so peaceful even at death’s gates.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean finally hears some news about the mysterious man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG AND ENDS KIND OF ABRUPTLY.
> 
> Also, unedited by eyes that aren't mine.

It was three days before the knock came at my door.  Three days of chopping wood, hunting, and cleaning my small and homely cabin at least twice over.  Three days of walking past the Jaeger’s house and quickly glancing away every time there was a movement behind the curtains.  Three days of wondering why I cared so much.

            But after three days, I opened my sturdy door to see the sharp outline of Mikasa standing in the outside, fist ready to knock.  She quickly lowered it.

            "Come," was all she spoke before turning in her heel and marching towards her house—the doctor's house—and all I could do was follow the adopted family member of the Jaeger's.

            The crunchy snow crackled under my boots, icy and forgiving now.  The weather had started warming up in preparation for spring—grass could be seen in wet patches here and there, and hunting was actually okay for once.

            The walk wasn't too long, only twenty minutes or so considering that I lived farther out of town than most, but the tense atmosphere was choking.  Mikasa didn't speak unless she had a purpose for doing so, and I guess speaking to the man who's affections she's spurned a couple years ago didn't hold much appeal to her.  Not that I could blame her though.  I didn't move out of town just because I dislike people, but rather because I never had much to say.

            Or, rather, what I did say was wrong, angry, or usually taken incorrectly anyways.  It was just better for the village if I were not around to cause trouble with my rash words and hostile fights (mainly with Eren, though I am not limited to those whom I'll fight with).

            As the town came into view, Mikasa spoke quietly once again.  "Did you know this man before he was injured?"

            Startled from my own thoughts, it took me a moment to reply, "I did not.  I was merely walking through the woods when I found him, lying there, under the tree I like to read under."  I quietly shuffled behind her, passing other houses and shops as we neared Jaeger's place.

            She quietly nodded her head once, before bounding up the steps to her house.  Mikasa reached for the handle, then stopped and looked back to me.

            "He's awake, but confused.  Don't confuse him more, and don't mention if anything about him looks different."

            She opened the door and walked inside, leaving me on the stoop.  I stood there dumbly for a moment, before following her inside, wondering what that meant.  What would be different?  Of course I hoped he didn't look like he'd been mauled by some rabid creature and instead looked much better.

            I shook my head to stop the confusing thoughts as Mikasa opened the door down the hallway and gestured me inside.  I nodded to her as I stepped in, and she closed the door softly.  Turning around, I saw the man whose name I still didn't know sitting up on the bed, looking alert with eyes open.

            Er, _eye_ I guess I should say.  Now I see why Mikasa wanted me to not mention anything.  
 Knowing that staring and awkwardly standing there was rude, I walked over and stuck my right hand out.

            "Hello, I'm Jean, the guy who found you out in the woods."

            He looked down to my hand, and then looked back up to my eyes.  "Marco, my name is Marco.”  He reached out and awkwardly shook my hand with his left, and that's when I noticed the missing limb too.

            Oh.  Shit, this was not starting out well at all.

            I quickly retracted my arm and mumbled out a "sorry" before looking down at my feet.  Great.  Now this guy probably wishes I didn't even save him because I'm just an utterly useless human being who can't even save a man in time to let him keep him limbs and—

            "Hey," the man, now known as Marco, reached out with his left hand and gently placed it on my shoulder, causing me to look up, "thank you, I really thank you.  I know the saying goes _'a life half lived isn't a life at all_ ,' but I'm glad just to have even half a life to live."  He began to quietly chuckle as he removed his hand, sitting up a little straighter with a slight smile skirting on his lips.

            Least to say, I was pretty floored.  He had just lost an arm, and eye, and any chance at normal life, but here Marco was making jokes on the bed he could have died on.

            I liked him already.

            I couldn't help but smile as I sat down on the chair next to his bedside.  "You know what Marco?  I think you're a pretty cool guy."

            At that, he began to really grin, the majority of his face left untouched by whatever had attacked him in the woods. It seemed like he’d only lost his eye and gained a few scratches on his face, and those scratches shouldn’t scar too badly.

            "Marco, do you mind telling me what happened out there?"

            Marco's smile began to melt away and he turned his eye toward the door.  "I don't remember much..." He began, looking uncomfortable.  He didn’t say anything else though and continued to glare at the door, as if the answer would just waltz in and explain itself.

            "Marco," I waved a hand in front of his face and got him to look at me.  "If it's too much, we don't have to talk about that.  Just tell me about you and how you ended up here."  I tried smiling at him to encourage him, but I think he saw how awkward I really am because he giggled.  A grown ass man giggled at me.

            I scowled back.

            "No, no!  Don't do that!  I'm sorry, just you trying to force a smile was too much," he covered his mouth with his hand for a moment, taking a deep breath, before letting his arm fall and beaming back up at me.

            "I'm Marco Bodt, from the town of Jinae, south of here—and much warmer might I add.  I was a priest there," he paused, taking a breath, "but not anymore.  I guess you could say my time there was done?"  He shook his head and stared back at the door.  "I left the town about a fortnight ago on what should have only been a week's trek at most, but I got distracted..."

            "By the forest?"  I questioned as he trailed off.

            "Yeah Jean, the forest."   A soft smile came to his lips, and he hummed contentedly. "It was—"

            "Beautiful?"  I finished, and he whipped his head back towards me.

            "Exactly.  It was gorgeous, like nothing I'd ever seen or felt before.  That forest, there's something about it, like it’s alive or something—maybe even alive or something!—and I felt like it called me in and then...  I woke up here."  He fiddled with some loose strings on the edge of the blanket covering him.  "I know I also lost a week in the woods.  I should have made it here sooner, but, I just couldn't leave.”

            Marco seemed pretty melancholy by the end of his story, so I just began talking quickly.

            "Kirschtein, Jean Kirschtein is my name.  I've lived in this town my whole life—well, not _in_ town, in my own place that I built about a mile outside of town—and I mean I guess I haven't lived _there_ my whole life but I've lived there for a few years now," I glanced up to see Marco observing me with a quiet grin upon his face, "and I like to hunt and chop wood because I live by myself and it has to be done but I like it anyways and sometimes I'll go read outside too when the weather isn't horrible, and that's how I found you because you were under the tree I usually read under and—"

            Marco placed a hand in my arm, stopping me mid-sentence.

            “Jean, if I keep letting you talk, you’ll just keep on going.  Don’t make Mikasa come in here and forcibly remove you for ‘upsetting the patient.’” he leaned in close and whispered, “I get the feeling that she could easily take us both, and I don’t want to test that theory.” 

            I muttered back, “Believe you me Marco, that woman is crazy and will not hesitate to strike, regardless of your condition.  She once went out on a trek by herself to the next village over, for supplies I assume, and was met with a pack of thieves.  Let’s just say that she wasn’t the one who left that encounter limping.”

            Marco sat back up and grinned again, lightly punching my arm.  “You’re alright Jean, You’re alright.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this took so long because I am a full time college student, and midterms were coming up and all, and I've just been really stressed out. I've basically been writing this like a paragraph a day, but I'm determined to do more. I actually had to drop a class, and that's helped a lot with stress, but I fee like a failure for dropping uhggg
> 
> Anyways, try to expect an update once a week or so from now on (I'll shoot for Wednesdays/Thursdays/Fridays), but don't hate me if I take forever because I do have a life. But thanks anyways for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! Thanks for reading! This is only chapter one, so not much of Jean/Marco yet, but I promise it'll come! What attacked that man in the forest? Why are people weary of the Jaegers? Who is the mysterious man? You'll just have to wait for chapter two :3 (also, this is unedited by eyes that aren't mine, so tell me about any mistakes!)


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